Does that impact overall psyche of the society?
Rice loving Bengali Vs Wheat consuming communities?
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
:emmy: 38 visitors didn’t know ‘staple’ or they don’t know about ‘Culture’?
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
I think it may be the other way around and think that it may be the culture and lifestyle of a society which influences its staple food.
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
Location and atmosphere… dictate food consumption…
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
^Usually, but not always though. An example of where location and atmosphere do not necessarily dictate consumption is among Somali nomad clans. Despite the fact that Somalia is located at the horn of Africa and has a large coastline, fish has never been a staple food of the Somalis as they have a taboo against the consumption of fish. The taboo is such that Somali nomad clans do not intermarry with neighboring clans (from Ethiopia and Kenya) on account of the fact that these do consume fish.
Various UN food agencies have attempted to promote fish eating to help alleviate the famines that are common in that region but have been largely unsuccessful as a result of this taboo. Interestingly, the Somali nomads even have an insult about that which states “do not speak to me with a mouth that eats fish.”
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
thats because they are pastoral nomads who moved into the area from inland - a fish eater is seen as one who is bad at raising a herd, that is the the equivalent of having no real job skills. :\
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
Rice is Asia’s staple food and pivotal to the Asian way of life, culture, customs, traditions and spirituality. 3.7 billion Asians live on rice. The main meal in the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Cambodia, China, and Korea is rice and fish. In Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka a meal means rice, pulses and vegetables with some meat. Rice is cooked in 500 different ways. It is also used to produce wine, liqueur and beer.
Basically a type of grass, rice species evolved in the Gondwanaland that would later form Asia and Africa. According to Dr. Nikolai Vavilov, South and Southeast Asia [India and Burma] are the centers of domestication of rice. However, recent claims from China suggest that rice may have been domesticated about 10,000 years ago there.
Asia’s Rice Culture Threatened | Global Research
Despite increase in yield and production, the per capita consumption of rice in Asia is declining: it came down from 236 grams per person per day in 1997 to 216 in 2003. This is largely due to population increase although other factors such as diversification in diet may also be responsible but rice remains the staple food.
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
I think it may be the other way around and think that it may be the culture and lifestyle of a society which influences its staple food.
By this logic, how come dates became inhabitants of deserts in Arab? Is it because they were not agricultural society?
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
By this logic, how come dates became inhabitants of deserts in Arab? Is it because they were not agricultural society?
I think part of the reason that dates become a staple food in Arabia is because they were freely available (date palms are indigenous to the region) and the predominant culture was not an agricultural one which cultivated other things.The fact that much of the region is desert (and does not allow for much cultivation) also contributed to this, of course, but I think the culture influenced this as well.
On that note, have dates ever been a staple food in Pakistan? I read somewhere that archeological evidence of date cultivation was found at the site of Mehrgarh (in what is modern day Balochistan). Interestingly, this cultivation of dates is among the earliest evidence of farming and cultivation (of any kind, not just dates) in Southeast Asia. I would find it rather ironic if dates were never a staple food despite evidence of cultivation given that they were a staple food in Arabia where they were not cultivated as such.
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
Not very long ago rice was consumed a lot in Punjab too. At least one food of the day used to be daal chawal, I believe globalization is playing its role too. The younger generation is more used to westernized foods as compared to the desi ones.
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
I think part of the reason that dates become a staple food in Arabia is because they were freely available (date palms are indigenous to the region) and the predominant culture was not an agricultural one which cultivated other things.The fact that much of the region is desert (and does not allow for much cultivation) also contributed to this, of course, but I think the culture influenced this as well.
On that note, have dates ever been a staple food in Pakistan? I read somewhere that archeological evidence of date cultivation was found at the site of Mehrgarh (in what is modern day Balochistan). Interestingly, this cultivation of dates is among the earliest evidence of farming and cultivation (of any kind, not just dates) in Southeast Asia. I would find it rather ironic if dates were never a staple food despite evidence of cultivation given that they were a staple food in Arabia where they were not cultivated as such.
They might be part of food, but I don't think that dates have been staple food in Balochistan or any part of Pakistan. Some people believe that dates were introduced in Sindh by Arab conquerors.
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
Not very long ago rice was consumed a lot in Punjab too. At least one food of the day used to be daal chawal, I believe globalization is playing its role too. The younger generation is more used to westernized foods as compared to the desi ones.
younger generation or burgers?
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
younger generation or burgers?
Younger generation of urban areas, not necessarily burgers. A few years back no one knew about burgers, Chinese soup, pizzas, noodles and spaghettis etc.
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
Younger generation of urban areas, not necessarily burgers. A few years back no one knew about burgers, Chinese soup, pizzas, noodles and spaghettis etc.
But there might have been some research by these multinationals on staple food and food habits in Pakistan, before they ventured local market.
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
But there might have been some research by these multinationals on staple food and food habits in Pakistan, before they ventured local market.
I think culture is an ever evolving phenomena, its not stagnant. I hope we are able to maintain our core values, like family culture due to the cultural onslaught during this period of free information transfer.
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
I think one's taste develops with the passage of time. I remember when I first ate a packet of potato chips I hated it, same was the case with the taste of first KFC burger. Later I developed a taste for this stuff.
Re: Impact of staple food on Culture?
Somalis east banana a lot. Pretty much the way we eat Pyaaz aur Mooli with our food, they eat banana with theirs.